2019 NHL ENTRY DRAFT - Vancouver

[Cousin Strawberry]

Hank winning the hart and art ross says he was absolutely an elite center.

I also am wondering what we have with Gaudette. Havent really seen any serious offensive flair as of yet. He has good wheels, protects the puck well, seems to know how to do the little things like smart chip outs and draw the forecheck to him, make decent passes under pressure, etc.

If he can start finding the scoresheet with Jake we will be unreal.

[vic]

Hank winning the hart and art ross says he was absolutely an elite center.

Yeah, still no respect for being the 85th player in NHL HISTORY to record 1,000 career regular season points.

Finished his career in 65th place for ALL TIME SCORING in the NHL, and if he did play a couple of more season (which he easily could have) would be in the top 50 all time.

[Strangelove]

I was the guy preaching patience when a bunch of people were on a witch hunt and wanted him benched earlier in the year.

Two people = a bunch?

[ESQ]

I think the Kesler comparison for Gaudette is good, because remember how offensively inept Kesler seemed in his first couple of seasons.

Certainly nobody thought he'd turn into a 40-goal scorer in his prime. He just kept getting incrementally better offensively.

[dangler]

As long as Gaudette keeps improving,which he has,i think he'll stick.
I could see some goals with Jake.
Hopefully Green keeps them together

[Blob Mckenzie]

I was the guy preaching patience when a bunch of people were on a witch hunt and wanted him benched earlier in the year.

Two people = a bunch?

‘Twas far more than two

[Mickey107]

As of November, or in other words, now.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors ... -november/

[SKYO]

Looks like the year of the centers this draft and RW.

Some of the notable dmen (copied notable notes):

6'1 Bowen Byram LD QB type
6'3 Philip Broberg LD, seems ranked top 15 or under in all mock drafts, is big but is a great skater, mobile, smart skilled and physical, could rise up by the draft, too bad he wasn't a RD.
5'11 Victor Soderstrom RD a two-way smart dman taking Adam Boqvist's spot on the swedish team.
5'10 Anttoni Honka RD, quick mobile skater, younger bro of Julius Honka, known for being a offensivly-gifted Finnish dman.
6'2 Drew Helleson RD, a two-way dman, reliable, physical type.
6'3 Matthew Robertson, LD, poised, mobile two-way defender who loves to carry the puck and take it deep, used in all situations, mr all-round dman.
5'11 Billy Constantinou RD, superb skater, all out offense.
6'0 Tobias Bjornfot LD, elite defensive type

Sportsnet mock:
1. Jack Hughes, C, (USNTDP) 5’10.25, 168 pounds: Give it a month to separate the haves and have-nots before fans of the have-nots begin living by the phrase, “lose to choose Hughes.”

2. Vasili Podkolzin, RW, (SKA St. Petersburg, MHL) 6’1, 190 pounds: If first impressions mean anything, then we’re looking at a budding star. Has produced in all the major international events to date, and was particularly noticeable at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup where he put up 11 points, including a hat trick in the bronze medal game.

3. Dylan Cozens, C, (Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL) 6’3, 181 pounds: Quiet confidence, extremely respectful, his character alone makes him a first-rounder. But with size and skill he’s cemented amongst the elite in this draft class.

4. Kirby Dach, C, (Saskatoon Blades, WHL) 6’3.5, 199 pounds: Used the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup as a springboard. High hockey IQ consistently has him in good position to score. While finishing was an issue a year ago, the early returns say that won’t be a problem this season.

5. Kaapo Kakko, RW, (TPS, Liiga) 6’2.25, 194 pounds: Thinks it well, enjoys controlling the pace of the game which he can do with size and good puck protection skills. Off to a great start in the Liiga. The next big thing from Finland in what has been an amazing run for the country since 2015.

6. Raphael Lavoie, C, (Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL) 6’3.5, 191 pounds: Has size and strength that will make him a physical force once he fills out. Is a snipe show who doesn’t mind the play turning physical. Lackadaisical lapses creep into his game from time-to-time, but those should become less frequent with age and working under new Halifax bench boss Eric Veilleux.

7. Bowen Byram, D, (Vancouver Giants, WHL) 6’0.5, 194 pounds: Experienced great growth under Giants assistant coach Dean Chynoweth last season and should benefit even further this season being exposed to Chynoweth’s replacement, Jamie Heward.

8. Alex Turcotte, C, (USNTDP) 5’11, 189 pounds: High hockey IQ as a result of coming from a hockey family. Is self aware and doesn’t play beyond his capabilities. Has good vision and shows patience with the puck.

9. Peyton Krebs, C, (Kootenay Ice, WHL) 5’11.25, 180 pounds: Takes a pro mentality to the ice regardless of game or practice. Well-rounded player who drives the play and makes others around him better.

10. Philip Broberg, D, (AIK, Allsvenskan) 6’2.75, 199 pounds: A massive coming-out party at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup brought him from out of nowhere to first-round consideration. Fearless in rushing the puck, he will have to improve his stick skills to be considered a true, modern defenceman.


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Draft Analyst:
full Nov 2018 top 100 - https://www.thedraftanalyst.com/ranking ... -november/

Jack Hughes
Vasily Podkolzin
Kaapo Kakko
Alex Newhook
Trevor Zegras
Alex Turcotte
Bowen Byram
Peyton Krebs
Kirby Dach
Dylan Cozens
Victor Soderstrom
Matthew Boldy
Nils Hoglander

[Blob Mckenzie]

I think the Kesler comparison for Gaudette is good, because remember how offensively inept Kesler seemed in his first couple of seasons.

Certainly nobody thought he'd turn into a 40-goal scorer in his prime. He just kept getting incrementally better offensively.

I don’t see it. Kesler was a far better skater and played with a chip on his shoulder

[Chef Boi RD]

Gaudette is a Brad Richardson, Jamie McGinn type of player

[Aaronp18]

There are 2 RHD in Kelowna to watch for, Kaeden Korczak and Lassi Thomson.

Kelowna has produced some of the NHLs best D for decades and these two both stand out on the blueline right now.

Korczak skates well, distributes the puck, can play PK and PP, is physical and will drop them on occasion. Really well rounded defenseman.
Lassi is a steal in the import draft, he struggled early adjusting to the NA game but leads all rookie defenseman in scoring on a team that struggled out of the gate. Smooth skater, great positionally, heavy and hard shot, perfect RHD PPQB.

It's fun checking out WHL games!

[Blob Mckenzie]

Thanks AP. Have you seen much of Nolan Foote?

[Meds]

I think the Kesler comparison for Gaudette is good, because remember how offensively inept Kesler seemed in his first couple of seasons.

Certainly nobody thought he'd turn into a 40-goal scorer in his prime. He just kept getting incrementally better offensively.

I don’t see it. Kesler was a far better skater and played with a chip on his shoulder

For starters, Kesler turned into a 40 goal scorer with 15 of them coming on the PP while playing with Hank and Danny.

Second, Kesler scored 41 goals one time in his career. He never repeated it. In fact the closes he came to that mark in any other season was 26 goals in 2008-09. He has had a couple of other seasons scoring at a 25 goal pace, and a few more at the 20 and change mark. The 41 goal outburst was an anomaly. His shot went from being average to having a heavy release over a summer of really focusing on it and shooting like 250 pucks a day or something in his basement. He never seemed to care about whether or not he could pick his spot though. His playmaking ability was average at best.

Kesler was a superb two-way forward, premiere pest and agitator, and (during his prime) possibly one of the best shutdown centermen the game has seen in the last 15 years.

Blobcat is right about the chip on the shoulder. Kesler had that from day one, and learned to focus it after playing with Sundin, at which point he became a guy who was constantly in the running for a Selke nomination for a handful of seasons, and highly effective at frustrating opposing top lines.

I can see Gaudette becoming a 20-25 goal scorer, but I don't see him as a guy who is going to replace Horvat or Pettersson in the top 2 spots.....and for him to stick in the NHL he either surprises us with a development curve that we aren't seeing, or he grows a chip on his shoulder and becomes that 20 goal 45-50 point contributor that every team loves to have coming over the boards with the 3rd line.

[vic]

I think the Kesler comparison for Gaudette is good, because remember how offensively inept Kesler seemed in his first couple of seasons.

Certainly nobody thought he'd turn into a 40-goal scorer in his prime. He just kept getting incrementally better offensively.

Horvat is the the best comparable to Kesler, IMO

An excellent 2nd line center, elite 3rd line center, can handle 1st line duties when needed, but not a fixture up there. He can be played and relied upon in all situation.

Gaudette can be a good option at #2C when needed, but he can become an excellent #3C - my comparable to Gaudette is Jordan Staal.

41 goals for Kesler was an anomaly - never game close to that again and was playing on a stacked team - easily the best Canucks team ever assembled.

[Chef Boi RD]

Nolan Foote could be a target for us in the middle of the first round